Keith Terrett

Keith Terrett (b.1956), is a composer, arranger, instrumental teacher, trumpeter, cornettist, flugelhornist & multi-instrumentalist born in London.

Keith joined the British Army at the age of fifteen, studying cornet at the Army band school in Bovington.

At 18 he became the principal Cornet\Trumpet to the 'Band of the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars' (a cavalry regiment), stationed in West Germany. He has toured the USA, Canada, Northern Ireland, France, Belgium and Holland during his service.

After retiring from the army in 1990, Keith took up a position as 'Head of Instrumental Music' & 'Band Director'; to schools in the Cayman Islands, British West Indies.

From 1993-4, Keith was a 'Lecturer in Music' at the 'Faculty of Creative Arts', 'University of Papua New Guinea', and from 1994-99, 'Principal Director of Music' & 'Chief Instructor' to the world famous 'Band of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary', touring Australia and Japan in 1996 & 1998.

After a brief spell teaching in the United Kingdom, Keith's interest in ethnomusicology took him to the Middle East for a year, where he taught classroom music in an international school in Kuwait City, giving him a chance to study Arabic music more closely.

From 2001-2006, Keith has taught instrumental music in a specialist music school in Norway, where he was also the town band director. During his time in Norway, Keith was invited to guest conduct His Majesty's King's Guard Band.

During his career, he has performed with many artists and orchestras including Jesse Norman, Iona Brown, Engelbert Humperdink, London & BBC Concert & Symphony Orchestras and the Kneller Hall Band. He has even appeared as a trumpeter on 'This is your life' with Eamon Andrews for the 85th birthday of Sir George Solti! A highlight was his appearances for three consecutive years in the annual Christmas Bach Choir Concerts in the Albert Hall, with Sir David Willcocks, the London Brass, and the Kneller Hall Fanfare Trumpet Team. 

His trumpet teacher at Kneller Hall was the legendary Ian Mackintosh, Principal Trumpet of the BBC S.O. During his time at Kneller Hall, Keith had the opportunity to study all brass, woodwind & percussion instruments. In addition he studied conducting with Frank Renton, Duncan Beat, George Evans and Frank Slack, orchestration with Trevor Sharp, and harmony and composition with Professor Gordon Reynolds, Peter Byrne, and Maj(retd) Roger G.Swift.

Keith is an internationally acclaimed composer\arranger, writing in all genres from full orchestra and wind band, to steel pans and even for the harmonica and accordion!

His music is published in the UK, Holland, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Canada.
Keith has studied with, and gained academic musical qualifications from the Royal Military School of Music, Open University, Trinity College of Music, Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, London College of Music, and the Bandsman's College of Music in Manchester.

As a composer\arranger Keith started arranging and composing when in the army, since working with children in schools Keith has developed flexible orchestrations to suit each group he has led. 

Visit Keith's Sibelius Music Store at: "Music for all Occasions"

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